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enVan t Schip: More to Heart revival than EngelaarJohn van t Schip has rejected suggestions Orlando Engelaar is largely responsible for Melbourne Hearts mid-season transformation.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/jvs-more-heart-resurgence-engelaar
The international marquee sat out the first half of the 2013-14 A-League campaign with a broken leg suffered in pre-season, watching from the sidelines as Heart failed to win during the first 14 rounds.
His long-awaited debut coincided with a drought-breaking 3-1 triumph at home to the Newcastle Jets and since then the team are unbeaten in five games, including successive victories in their last three matches.
Engelaar opened the scoring in a 5-0 rout of Wellington Phoenix last Sunday, but his coach is not buying into suggestions the fit-again towering midfielder is Heart's secret weapon.
"I don't agree," he said.
"We played 35 minutes with Orlando (against) Newcastle, we were already leading. Adelaide away, in my opinion, he didn't play a good game. We were leading 2-1 (and lost).
"The game against Sydney he only played 35 minutes. So let's take everything a little bit out of making a player bigger than he is. He's already quite big," he joked, referring to his countryman's 1.96 metre frame.
"I know Orlando is a very good player, can play very good. Sunday was his first performance we can really say he helped the team a lot. And he knows it himself. He has still a lot to show to the people in Australia and to our team. He's getting fitter and game-fit every week. Hopefully we can see more his qualities in the coming period."
On Sunday Heart host Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park, where the league leaders will be seeking to bounce back from their surprise 1-0 defeat at home to the Newcastle Jets last time out.
"We have to approach the game against Brisbane very concentrated because they have the best playing team in the league and they can really make it difficult for any opponent when they have the ball," Van 't Schip said.
"So we have to ... keep the momentum going, continue our game improving."
"You're not going to stop them because they have their way of playing. You have to try to make it difficult for them. They will have their moments, for sure. Because it's a team that can outplay almost every opponent in the league. We have to make sure we're prepared."
Dutch centre-back Robbie Wielaert is suspended for the Roar game, meaning Patrick Gerhardt is likely to drop back into defence, with Jonatan Germano returning to midfield. Youngster David Vrankovic is Van 't Schip's other likely defensive solution.
news_articleFri, 21 Feb 2014 05:41:40 +0000126389 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comGriffiths, Engelaar handed A-League bansNewcastle Jets have until lunchtime on Tuesday to decide if they plan to appeal a two-game suspension handed down to striker Joel Griffiths.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/griffiths-engelaar-handed-league-bans
Griffiths was shown a red card after the full-time whistle of Saturday night's 2-2 draw with Western Sydney for abusing referee Ben Williams.
The veteran attacker was hit with a mandatory one-game ban, plus an additional match for the "use of offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures against a match official."
While Griffiths will definitely miss this weekend's home encounter with Wellington, the club may opt to fight the ban for the second game, which is away to Brisbane Roar.
Jets coach Clayton Zane hinted after the Wanderers clash the club may fight any sanction handed down Griffiths.
"I chatted to him (Griffiths) and he said he was in dialogue (with the ref) and he didn't think it was a red card," Zane said on Saturday night.
"I haven't specifically asked the words he used but a lot of the players didn't know the situation and perhaps it could have been handled a little bit differently that the players didn't know what was going on, because I didn't know from the bench that the final whistle had gone due to the crowd noise.
"So the club may want to appeal that just based on a little bit of leniency and common sense I guess."
Melbourne Heart marquee man Orlando Engelaar was suspended for one game for his poor tackle on Sydney FC's Hagi Gligor on Friday night.
The Dutchman was also shown a straight red for his lunging first-half tackle, and will miss the Heart's home clash with Perth Glory on Sunday.
news_articleMon, 03 Feb 2014 07:37:08 +0000118207 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comEngelaar: Defenders behind Heart improvementMelbourne Heart marquee midfielder Orlando Engelaar has claimed the Red and Whites defenders deserve more credit for the clubs breakthrough win last week.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/defenders-behind-heart-league-improvement
While Mate Dugandzic, Harry Kewell and Iain Ramsay have received plenty of plaudits for their key roles in Heart's three goals in their 3-1 win over Newcastle Jets, Engelaar believes central defensive pairing Patrick Gerhardt and Robbie Wielaert deserve 'some credit too'.
Heart have the worst defensive record so far in this A-League season with 26 goals conceded in 15 games.
But having let just five goals in their past four matches, Heart have turned a corner defensively, according to Engelaar.
"I thought Patrick Gerhardt had a very good game, Robbie (Weilart) had a good game (versus Newcastle)," the 34-year-old Dutch midfielder said on Wednesday.
"You know, the defence was very solid...I think the defence deserves some credit too.
"You know, because I think they defended really solid and I think that's where it starts. You have to defend solid and not concede goals to win games."
The win last Friday ended Heart's 19-game streak without victory, while it also marked Engelaar's A-League debut with the former PSV Eindhoven and Schalke midfielder making his return from a broken leg, which had kept him on the sidelines since August.
Engelaar had only played 30 minutes of a National Youth League game before returning to senior football and conceded he was slightly off the pace against the Jets.
"My leg was ok. That was something I didn't even think about, so that says a lot and I felt pretty comfortable," Engelaar said.
"It's just, it's always hard to get in the game (when you come off the bench) but even harder if you haven't played for four months.
"So after a few minutes I was pretty tired...but the boys made it easy for me too. We played really well."
Heart's next challenge is a trip to take on Adelaide United - one of the form teams of the A-League - on Saturday afternoon.
While Engelaar appreciates Adelaide's strengths under head coach Josep Gombau, the Dutchman is convinced Heart can challenge the hosts at Coopers Stadium.
"I think they're a pretty good team on the ball but they are very vulnerable when they don't have the ball," Engelaar said.
"So, I think that's something we need to take advantage of."
news_articleWed, 22 Jan 2014 02:53:27 +0000113608 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comHeart eager to replace injured marquee EngelaarJohn Aloisi has confirmed Melbourne Heart are seeking to secure an injury replacement player for sidelined marquee Orlando Engelaar.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/heart-eager-replace-injured-marquee-engelaar
Dutchman Engelaar suffered a fractured leg in his first game of pre-season for Heart and although he will not undergo surgery, the former Netherlands international is not expected to return to action until 2014.
"He's not having an operation, he's letting it heal naturally. In three months' time he should be ready to start to run," Aloisi said on Wednesday.
"And then we'll see how quick it heals from there. We're still not sure on the exact time he'll be out for, if it ends up being four, five, six months. But we're confident he'll be back for the (remainder of the) season."
The search is now on for a player capable of acting as a temporary replacement for Engelaar, but Aloisi will be well aware that players of the calibre of the former PSV Eindhoven and Schalke man are few and far between.
"We're working through the solutions now," he said.
"He won't be out for the whole season, we're confident he'll back. We have to work through hopefully getting a player in - an injury replacement - and seeing what we can come up with.
"We're confident that we'll still put a strong squad together, even (with) the unfortunate injury to Orlando.
"You don't want to wish it upon anyone, let alone your marquee player. They're things that happen in football, you accept it, you move on and you come up with solutions and that's what we ended up doing.
"A day later we started speaking about what (we can) come up with now. And then we're working through that with (general manager) John Didulica and the club."
In another set-back for Heart, Engelaar's compatriot Rob Wielaert also picked up a training knock which is likely to keep the veteran centre-back out for the rest of pre-season.
"Rob Wielaert, he rolled his ankle the other day," Aloisi said.
"We're not sure how long he'll be out for. We're still hoping and believe he will be right for the first game of the season."
Finally, Aloisi endorsed the ambitious targets set by newly appointed captain Harry Kewell, who said the club will be aiming to win the title in his first season as skipper.
"I think that everyone believes they've got a chance of winning it and we're no different," the Heart coach said.
"We're putting a squad together to be competitive. You have to aim high and that's what we're doing. And I'm sure that every other club in the A-League's doing the same."
news_articleWed, 04 Sep 2013 03:35:03 +000052593 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com